Japanese Word of the Day:
English: Family
Japanese: 家族 or かぞく [kazoku]
English: Family
Japanese: 家族 or かぞく [kazoku]
Hello friends! Have you ever wondered what happens when my
family gets together? Fun stuff, that’s what. As plenty of you probably know,
mom and Seth recently came to visit me and we went on a tour of Japan (not all
of it, obviously). So I’m gonna share some of the best parts and pictures here
for ya’ll to vicariously visit Japan along with us.
On Wednesday July 22nd mom and Seth arrived via
Kansai international airport in Osaka. Let me say now that jetlag is absolutely
hilarious (when it’s not happening to you). My family had become the walking
dead over the course of a 13 hour flight bookended by hour and a half flights.
I fed them and drug their mostly conscious selves back to a hotel where
everyone immediately fell asleep.
The next day was spent around Osaka. While at the airport
Seth had seen a small Pokemon store and remembered that Japan has Pokemon
centers so that was our first stop. At least, our first stop after we found a
place to stow our luggage. You see my dear kind hearted mother had brought
gifts for everyone in my town (no, not literally, but just about) and as a
result both her and Seth had massive suitcases. In America this wouldn’t be a
problem as you could lock the suitcases in your car and go about your way but
when you live in Japan and are reliant on public transportation it becomes a
bit of an issue. Luckily almost all Japanese stations have coin lockers and the
bigger ones have quite large ones so after dragging the suitcases around for a
while we were able to ignore them most of the day and go to the Pokemon Center.
If you were a kid in the 90s and play games or watched cartoons it doesn’t
matter how old you get Pokemon Centers will always be magical to you. Seth and
I had way too much fun picking out toys while our patient mother kept up with
us.
After our brief visit to childhood we hopped the subway to
the Osaka bay for lunch and our afternoon entertainment; the Osaka aquarium. At
this point you might be snorting at your computer that I would bring my family
all the way to Japan to see fish. If so you are probably not aware that the
Osaka Aquarium has 2 whale sharks and is one of the 7 aquariums in the world to
have whale sharks. 3 of those 7 are in Japan, by the way.
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| Yeah they're big. Like really big. |
People who know me also know that I turn into a kid in a
candy store when placed within view of cool animals with my camera and that I
also recently got a new camera. So needless to say, I enjoyed myself quite a
bit.
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| This guy did some cool yoga for us |
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| D'aaaw look at the little squidies |
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| My spirit animal (on Mondays anyways) |
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| What do you think jellyfish do all day? |
Before going to the aquarium we had some sushi for lunch and
no the darkness of that joke is not lost on me. Conveyor belt sushi restaurants
are far from the best quality sushi you can get but they still rival most
American sushi and are a fun way to try lots of new types.
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| Seth will be our lovely food model |
We walked around a bit and killed some time in Amemura which
is an area of Osaka that thrives around the Japanese idea of American culture
and is frequented by expats. In case you were wondering, the name comes from
Amerika-mura or America village. It’s interesting.
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| I like that we get a statue of liberty and of junk food |
After a dinner of Turkish-Iranian cuisine (because Osaka is
awesome) we collected our bags and hauled them on the 2 hour trip back to my
apartment. Once again we all basically collapsed into bed.
Thursday was our dedicated Kyoto day. When I originally made
the plan I had us arriving quite early to see a parade as part of the Gion
Matsuri, a very large and incredibly famous festival. Alas, we were all much
too tired from our day in Osaka and decided to go a bit later. On the way we
got turned around once and when we finally arrived in Gion, hours after I had
originally intended we found that the parade happened to be passing by right
where we were. What are the odds? The parade was called the Hanagasa junko and
I honestly can’t tell you more about it than that it was pretty and I’m pretty
sure half the participants were about to pass out from heat stroke.
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| Ah yes, the traditional shoes of Japan: crocs |
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| I wonder if they picked their jobs by drawing straws |
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| Practicing geisha of Kyoto, more on that later |
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| The saddest little swan boy™ |
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the sights, sounds,
and tastes of Kyoto including the Kawaramachi shopping street, massive
parfaits, the general Gion area, and Kiyomizu dera taisha (pure water temple).
Picture time!
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| A covered shopping street in Kyoto (Kawaramachi) |
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| Hey it's that place I keep taking the same picture of! |
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| Of course I had consent to take this picture. Totally. [shifty-eyes] |
Day three was our “more relaxing” day as we went to Nara
which is close and the highlights can usually be toured in a half day. As it
happens, this was the day I nearly keeled over from dehydration and heat. Did I
mention it was really hot? Because it was really, really hot. And I know all
ya’ll back home are saying “yeah it’s hot here too, big deal” but allow me to
explain why it is a big deal here. For one, Japan is an island and that means
it’s humid as all hell. For example, my phone told me that while yesterday was only 99 degrees the 80% humidity caused
the heat index to be a boiling 108. Yesterday I had to walk 15 minutes from
place and place and by the time I arrived I was completely drenched in sweat to
the point my hair was dripping. It’s hot here. Beyond that, in America when
it’s hot you can stay inside and enjoy your AC 24/7. Japan believes that houses
should breath and have air flow, which while being healthy and good for you,
means that insulation isn’t really a thing like it is in the states. So in my
house I have an AC unit in one room and I only ever cool that one room and at
night my bedroom next to it. Anything more would be a waste. So when I decide I
want to do something like, say, eat dinner I have to leave the lovely cool room
and face the overwhelming heat. But I’m getting off topic. Point being, it was
really, really hot and we had to be drinking water quite often to not pass out.
As you may remember from previous entries, Nara is the place
with the super chill deer. It’s also the home of the gorgeous Isuien Gardens
and Todaiji, the largest wooden building in the world which is inhabited by the
largest bronze Buddha statue in the world. More pictures!
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| This just in: Isuien Garden still gorgeous |
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| Todaiji is still massive, too |
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| And Buddha is still pretty chill |
Nara was scheduled as our “recovery” day because the day
after we got up early to head to Kyoto station and hop the shinkansen to
Hiroshima. The shinkansen is the proper name for the bullet train which is
essentially an airplane on land. The maximum operating speed of the shinkansen
is right around 200 mph and we covered half the distance of the state of North
Carolina in about 2 hours. So it’s pretty fast. The shinkansen is also
notorious for always being within seconds of its scheduled arrival time. Oh and
it only stays at each station for about a minute or two to let passengers on
and off. It’s a really cool experience.
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| It's basically a long plane without wings. A snake plane! |
Once in Hiroshima we dumped our bags at the hotel, had some
lunch and headed off for both the most fun day of our trip and the most
heartrending. As you can probably infer, our first stop was the atomic bomb
dome and Peace Memorial Museum. If you haven’t read my write up about my visit
4 years prior I strongly urge it though with warnings about graphic
descriptions. I genuinely feel that Americans (and hell, everyone) needs to be
aware of what the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki went through. Seriously. Go read about it.
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| Remember that time North Carolina almost had an atomic bomb dropped on it? Hiroshima does. |
So carrying the sadness of the museum we left to rejoin the
world of the living and find some joy in our lives. Luckily Seth had just the
right idea. When we were first planning the trip Seth made a list of things he
wanted to see and do and on that list was attending a baseball game. I wasn't wild
about the idea and figured it would just be a boring night of humoring Seth but
I got the tickets and planned around it. I have never been more wrong in my
life. The baseball game in Hiroshima was the most fun I’ve had in recent memory
and I’m pretty good at having fun. As we walked around town that day Seth
noticed that a lot of people seemed to be wearing jerseys but we didn’t pay too
much mind. At the stadium just about every other person was in a jersey. Even
Seth caved and got himself one that led to a rather amusing exchange. It seems
the Hiroshima Carp have an American player on their team named Johnson. So
while getting some food at the game a couple of Japanese fans approached Seth
and shook his hand and made jokes about how he should have gotten the Johnson
jersey (he got the Dohbayashi one instead).
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| The lady peddled around playing songs. It was awesome |
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| I wonder who's in the business of sculpting ice hippos |
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| Our friends the super fans |
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| Seth is now modeling clothes in addition to food |
After we fetched food we ended up sitting on the ground
behind some random seats because our seats were for unreserved tickets and
everyone else was doing just that. As a result we had a great view of the
field, got to sit instead of stand all game (the floor was super clean – it is
Japan after all), and around the 5th inning a bunch of superfans
started hanging out behind us. The game had been 0-0 up until the 6th
inning when a Hiroshima player hit a home run knocking in 2 points and the
crowd absolutely went berserk. The fans behind us all came up and high fived us
and tried to get us to cheer “banzai!” with them. Then in the 7th
inning they gave us extra balloons so we could participate in the Japanese
version of the 7th inning stretch; inflating balloons, singing along
to the team song, and then everyone releasing their balloons at once so they
fly everywhere. It was cool.
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| This was the end of the game actually. I miss a picture during the first balloon release where there were many, MANY more balloons |
By the end of the game the Carp had a solid victory which we
were all deeply invested in. The American player got the MVP which probably
contributed to some of the warm treatment we received and the mass of the
stadium almost all left on foot leading to a mass of red walking home. It was a
really cool experience that I can’t properly put into words. If you’re ever in
Japan I strongly recommend a trip to a baseball game.
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| The shinkansen was so fast it actually distorted my pictures |
The next day brought another Shinkansen trip though this
time from Hiroshima to Tokyo, totaling almost 5 hours and a distance the width
of Tokyo. Luckily our hotel was literally next to the train station so we had
plenty of time to enjoy breakfast. I had planned for us to all get bento boxes
(basically set lunch boxes) to eat at our leisure on the trip but sadly the
selection in the Hiroshima station was rather lacking. When I first took a
Shinkansen there was a plethora of types of bentos available so I was really
disappointed by the lack there. Regardless, we all grabbed some sandwiches and
snacks and got comfortable. We arrived in Tokyo around midafternoon and got
checked into the nicest hotel yet. Seriously, it was beautiful and I’m not just
saying that because I picked it.
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| I really liked the sliding window screens |
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| Seth was happy about things (this wasn't even his room) |
We spent our evening in Tokyo exploring Akihabara which mom
perfectly described as “nerd heaven”. Basically it’s a huge electronics, video
games, and anime center with otaku delights as far as the eye can see. Our
incredibly patient mother often waited outside to people watch as Seth and I
explored the crowds, packed shops, and tiny passageways. It was a lot of fun
but pretty overwhelming for a group or introverts.
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| Visual stimulation: Check. |
We ended up eating dinner at an Indian restaurant next door
to the hotel that we had spotted earlier. It was so-so in my opinion as I have
become an Indian food connoisseur in my time in Japan. But it was still plenty
good and lots of it.
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| Our happy food model strikes again |
The next day our mother proved her unending patience while
waiting as Seth and I went to another Pokemon Center and ran around it
collecting toys. After our child hearts were filled with satisfaction we headed
to Harajuku to walk around a famous shopping street and collect some gifts.
Harajuku is a well-known fashion district and definitely catered to a different
crowd than the Kyoto station area. This was also the day my mother discovered
the Daiso 100yen shop chains and how wonderful they are.
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| The many faces... |
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| ...of Harajuku |
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| Including Obama, apparently |
As the afternoon approached we return to the station for our
return shinkansen plenty early as we like to not risk anything. This was
especially good because when I went to go through the gate with my ticket I got
an error message. I went to the attendant and she pointed me to the ticket
office and said “Bye bye!” as my heart plummeted. It turned out the tickets had
been booked for the wrong day! For anyone wondering how I could make so silly a
mistake allow me to explain. We booked the tickets the 2nd day of
the trip in Kyoto. I had done all the research and clearly wrote down the 3
tickets that we all needed. In the process of booking I was told that one of
the trains I wanted (from Hiroshima to Tokyo) was sold out and had to move things
around. The shock of the ticket being sold out as well as the relief of being
able to get a replacement had stunned me somewhat. When it was time to check
the tickets I very carefully checked the first 2 but was slack on the third.
It’s a lot of numbers to deal with! Regardless, the mistake was made and now
had to be sorted.
Luckily the ticket office woman was incredibly kind and took
my limited Japanese, arm flailing, and desperation perfectly in stride. She
easily changed the tickets to a train at the same time on the correct day and
charged nothing for the trouble. She’s the MVP of the trip in my opinion. Well,
maybe MVP after my smartphone.
With that panic over and dealt with we had a relaxing ride
back to Kyoto where we had a lovely dinner before returning home to Ujitawara.
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| A rare, non-distorted shinkansen picture |
When I made the schedule for our trip I intentionally left
our last full day empty. I figured this way we could do anything we had missed
a previous day or just rest and prepare for the return trip for mom and Seth.
It turned out this was an excellent, much needed idea. The day was spent
relaxing and packing and I got to show mom and Seth around a few parts of my
town. Mom and Seth were blown away by the grocery store, especially in the
premade sushi and meals section and we ended up with way too much food in my
fridge.
When it came time to plan dinner we determined eating at a
restaurant was the easiest answer to the food problem and set off for Kyoto
station which has many restaurants with English menus. Our trip there was
hindered by our bus taking twice as long to reach the station for reasons I
still don’t know and the trains being on a delay. When we finally did reach the
station we ended up running all over the place as we tried to pick a few
restaurants and found we either couldn’t find them or it had only 4 sets (2 of
which were occupied). Eventually we found and settled on some Italian food
which will not what you think of for eating in Japan was quite good. Mom
grabbed a few more gifts after dinner and we returned for the last time to
Ujitawara.
Our last day was pretty uneventful as it was mostly spent on
the 3 hour trip from my apartment to the airport in Osaka. We arrived only to
find that Seth and mom’s flight had been delayed which was just the first sign
of the disaster they would have to deal with getting home. Unaware of the
future trouble we had a nice last meal together in the airport before parting
to return to our real lives.
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| I did a terrible disservice to our wonderful model and decapitated him |
In summary: best trip ever.
Ya’ll may not know it but my family is actually really cool.
Getting to show them the country I fell in love with was an amazing experience
and how willing they were to try new things and not complain was really refreshing.
I got to experience the wonder of Japan for the first time through them though
with the knowledge and experience of someone who has lived here a year and a
half. It was, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, just really cool.
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| See ya next time. |
